


10 Days Until Your Contract Expires

by superbaby2



Category: A Hat in Time (Video Game)
Genre: Comedy of Errors, M/M, Minor Angst, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, more charas to be added as i update, snatcher that's not how you make friends you dont steal their souls, this ends up as snatchductor i promise
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-12
Updated: 2019-06-23
Packaged: 2020-05-01 21:56:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 6,994
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19186192
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/superbaby2/pseuds/superbaby2
Summary: The Conductor strikes a bad deal with a specter in Subcon Forest, and now must do his bidding for 10 days. This includes babysitting while on the job, committing murder, and breaking and entering. Will he make it out alive by the end to get his soul back?





	1. Introduction to Selling Your Soul Away

**Author's Note:**

> this is my first hat in time fic so while i did plan this fic out extensively i am not exactly sure abt characterization. hope you like it though!

“Ugh…” 

The Conductor groaned as he set his glass on the bar countertop, rubbing his face with his hands as he tried to pull himself together. Ever since that little girl with the hat had left, he hadn’t felt as much excitement in his life. He had started on his next movie, in order to jump ahead of Grooves’ production schedule. Even then, he wasn’t excited in the slightest for the Bird Movie Awards. Their obsession with the awards had driven Grooves to attempt murder, and the Conductor knew that he would’ve done the same had he won. It was something he didn’t want to think about, lest it drive him to ask for another drink. Besides, he wasn’t sure he would’ve liked to start dipping into his grandkids school fund by asking for another glass. He had spent enough already.   
“Put all of that on my tab. I’m going home.” He drunkenly announced, waving his hand to get the bartender’s attention. The owl got up from the bar stool and walked to the door, nearly slamming it shut when he left. Trying not to think about what brought him to the bar in the first place (and focusing on putting one foot in front of the other,) the Conductor set off home. 

“I just need to go home and sleep this off. Then, I can start working on a script for some of the scenes in the new movie…” He murmured to himself, not noticing that he had taken a wrong turn from his usual way home, onto a path with dead trees lining it, and shadowy crows adorning their branches.

Wait… had the path home from the bar always been this long? The Conductor couldn’t remember much at that moment other than the fact that he was walking at all. He especially didn’t remember the path home from the bar going through such a dark neck of the woods. Before he knew it, a white cloth concealed underneath the dirt he was walking on pulled up its corners at his feet, snatching him into a bag and pulling him high into the air. 

“What the- Let me out of here! Whatever peck neck is pullin’ this trick’ll have hell to pay when I get through with them!” The owl fought blindly to get out of the bag, the vague sound of rolling thunder echoing in the distance. It was when he was about to give up that the bag gave up first, dropping him to the ground. He managed to land on his feet, but fell backwards upon noticing that the dark forest he had walked through was no longer there, but replaced with a ring of purple fire all around, with a shadowy haze below his feet to boot. He scrambled back and was given no time to think before a large purple specter appeared in front of him. 

“FOOOOOOOOOL! You must have a death wish entering my forest, because you’re not leaving in one piece!” The spirit shrieked, donning a wide, glowing grin. The Conductor could only focus on that fact he knew this ghost from somewhere. Hadn’t he seen him before? But where…? He pointed up at the specter, his hand shaking both from fear and inebriation. 

“You… you a friend of that hat lass, too?” He asked, voice slurring a bit towards the end. The ghost’s seemingly happy expression changed to one of complete surprise.

“Wait a minute… You’re that guy that hung onto me when I was trying to get the kid to sign another contract before she left! How do you know her?” 

The Conductor answered with no hesitation. “That peck neck DJ Grooves tried to murder her for one of those hourglass thingies, an I had to help her out.” Upon saying that, the owl could’ve sworn he saw the color drain out of the spirit’s face. He was silent for a moment, but began to speak again after taking a deep breath.

“Tell you what- I’ll make an exception for you. I’d normally eat your soul, toss your body, the works- but… You get spared. Mainly because I can get free hard labor out of you. How does that sound?” The ghost didn’t actually give him time to respond, even as the Conductor raised his hand slightly to try and object. “Too bad if you say no- you don’t get a choice! Here, sign this.”   
A contract appeared in front of the Conductor, along with a quill pen. He could barely process that all of this was happening and indeed real, let alone read whatever this said. Anything to get this guy out of his face so he could go home. He had said that he was going to be spared, after all. What was the worst signing the contract could make him do? He picked up the quill pen and scrawled his name down as fast as he could without missing a beat. As he finished, both the pen and paper vanished into thin air. The ghost laughed a wicked cackle. 

“Oh, buddy! You have no idea what you’ve just done! These next 10 days are gonna be a total breeze for me- for you, not so much. As stated in the contract you clearly didn’t read, i’ll be taking this…” 

With that, the specter drew the soul out of the Conductor’s body. The shock of his sudden soul removal mixed with his drunken state caused the owl to black out, collapsing backwards onto the ground.

“You’ll get this back… eventually. Can’t have the kiddo knowing I rendered one of her friends soulless, or she’ll definitely come back to bug me.” Snatcher picked the unconscious Conductor up under his arm, and summoned the contract again in his other hand. Giving it a brief look over, he grinned.

“Yeah, this is a pretty easy way to get some work done around the forest. He’s going to hate some of the chores I have for him, I bet...”


	2. Day 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Conductor wakes up and realizes he's made a horrible mistake. Snatcher gives him his first chore.

“Good morning, sunshine! Time to get to work on your contractual obligations!” The Conductor stirred from sleep upon hearing the spirit’s voice. He was met with Snatcher’s eerily glowing gaze and ominous aura. His head felt like it was going to split open from the amount of drinking he had done from the night before, which didn’t help the confusion he was experiencing in the moment. He sat up only to notice he was laying in an awkward position on a raggedy armchair, along with the tattered wallpaper that adorned the open treehouse around him.

“My… My wha?” He asked, groggy from sleep and hangover mixing together. Snatcher frowned, materializing the contract into his hands. 

“Don’t tell me you already forgot about this great deal you made! Remember? Last night when you were clearly drunk and I stole your soul! Good times.” 

“You took MY SOUL?!” The Conductor squawked, leaping up from the chair. He hadn’t taken notice of it until the specter had said it, but he certainly did feel a certain… lack of substance internally. Like he didn’t have much of a will of his own, which was especially strange for him. As much as it was joked around Dead Bird Studios that no one working in the movie industry had a heart or soul, the Conductor had just become the first to validate it. 

“To be fair, you signed it away in a legally binding contract.” The ghost presented the contract to the owl, motioning to where his name had been hastily written next to a wax emblem of Snatcher’s face. “I hereby totally agree to do this Snatcher dude’s dirty work and absolve him of all injuries I will most likely sustain from this work. Also, i’ll give up my soul, no takesy backsies.” He read in a matter-of-fact tone. The Conductor muttered curses under his breath, and crossed his arms, walking to leave the treehouse. Snatcher quickly moved to block his path. 

“Okay! So what if I signed my soul away? Doesn’t change the fact that I have a movie to go make! Move outta my way before I make you!” He defiantly gazed up at Snatcher, whose expression could be described as one of both amusement and annoyance. 

“Yeah, not happening. You have work to do if you ever want to have even the smallest chance of getting your soul back.” He picked the Conductor up by the back of his collar and vanished into a portal in the ground, resurfacing at a large clearing with tree stumps forming a ring around an unlit bonfire. Ice scattered the grounds, encasing a good majority of the structures nearby. 

“You see this ice all around Subcon Village? Your job is to get rid of it. I’m sick of seeing it around my forest. Good luck finding a way to clear it!” He abruptly dropped the owl from his grip and was gone in the same portal from which he came, leaving the Conductor alone in the village save for spirits wearing masks and little hooded creatures. He brushed himself off and glanced around. No clear exit out of the forest, no matter which way he looked. Sure, he wanted to leave, but not without his soul. He’d hoped threatening the “Snatcher” would make him give his soul back, but it almost never worked like that with threats unless he had a knife to back it up. So, he was stranded in an unfamiliar forest where he had no idea of what time it was or where he was, having to do a stranger’s bidding to get his soul back. Might as well try, even if he didn’t like it.

The Conductor inspected a clump of ice covering a spiked fence, running his hand over it. Completely solid- there was no hitting it with rocks and hoping for it to break. Touching it briefly for a moment gave him a feeling of despair, and hatred, which he knew had to come from some kind of magic that created the ice. Whoever had frozen this land over was filled with a freezing, paralyzing sadness. He had encountered this type of magic once before, back in the days when his train used to make more stops around the world. Either way, he had to get rid of it.   
He drove a sturdy looking branch he found nearby into the heart of the ice- only to have it crack and fall apart in his hands. 

“For peck’s sake, how does that thing expect me to clear this ice without any tools?” The Conductor sighed aloud after having tried several more branches and failing. “Even if I had a knife this would be easier.”

“Perhaps I may be of assistance.” Came a faint, almost dreamlike voice from the trees. The Conductor quickly looked around for the source of the voice, only to turn around and be face to face with a strange person in a red robe holding a staff. He jumped back upon noticing how the person’s arms moved with an unnatural sporadic twitch, and their face was obscured by an eerie mask with one glowing eye. They extended a hand holding a small pouch. 

“I don’ need any help! I can do this myself.” He snapped, relaxing a bit once he realized the person didn’t clearly mean any harm.

“This is Phoenix Powder. It is a potent magic ingredient that can set anything ablaze in an instant. I’m sure you could use it now. Especially since you seem to have a strange connection to it, from what I can gather.” The stranger tossed the pouch at the Conductor, who caught it. “Pay me back later.” 

“I told you I don’t need this stuff! Take back your weird magic and leave me-” In the blink of an eye, they were gone. The Conductor had only glanced down at the pouch for a second, and back up to find that the person was missing. Turning back to the pouch, he undid the ribbon tied around its neck. A shining orange glow was all he could see. Reaching inside the pouch, the fine powder glowed with a faint heat in his fingers. The energy from it resonated with him, deep inside his soul. This was legitimate. But why had he been given it in the first place? He didn’t think about it too much- free solutions to his problems were always welcome, no matter the time or place.

Tossing it onto the enchanted ice, it melted away with ease. Repeating this process with a little bit of powder onto every frozen surface did the trick immediately. By the end of it all, he only had a small portion of the original amount left. Closing up the pouch and pocketing it, the Conductor set out into the forest to find Snatcher and give him a piece of his mind for making him do such paltry chores.  
___

Snatcher was pulled out of his book by faint cussing, growing louder with every moment passing. He looked up to see the Conductor approaching his house, his hands clenched tight and his anger clear. Closing his book and getting up from the chair, Snatcher was excited to hear the news of failure that he was certain of. Instead, the Conductor marched right up to the ghost and put his hands on his hips. 

“There, I’m done! Can I go now?”

“Wait, you actually did it?” He was taken aback for a moment, then tried to go back to his snide demeanor without giving the owl a hint to his surprise “Okay, you can go. Just know that if you don’t come back for tomorrow’s errands, I won’t be as forgiving as I was today.”

“Whatever! See if I give a peck, you noodle-lookin’ bastard!” The Conductor closed the gap between himself and Snatcher, pressing a finger threateningly into the ghost’s chest. Before Snatcher could react, the owl quickly drew his hand back as if he had been bitten. That ghost was… vaguely fluffy? He had expected to only feel some kind of presence as his hand went through, but there was a tangible wispiness to Snatcher’s… fur? Skin? What even was that? He shook off the momentary shock, and left on a warpath, fury apparent in his gait. 

The spirit only watched as the Conductor angrily made his way over to one of his servants, yelled something, and then the servant shakily pointing to the forest’s exit. He stalked off into the woods, cursing up a storm. Clearly hard labor wasn’t the way to shake him. The owl had just had the nerve to even touch Snatcher! It was obvious to the ghost that he’d have to pull on some other emotion to rattle the Conductor, rather than weariness. 

The next chore would be nowhere near as easy to swallow as this one had been. Snatcher was already thinking of ways to try and draw some semblance of any emotion but anger out of the bird. He just had to figure out what he could do to get it...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> aaaand that wraps up our second chapter! i included some personal headcanons/theories in here!  
> next chapter: just how do you shake the conductor to his core?


	3. Day 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Snatcher has a gift for the Dwellers.

As the Conductor made his way back to Dead Bird Studio that night, he could only despise the thought of having to go back to that forest just to do whatever Snatcher told him. What stupid garbage could he make him do next? He wasn’t even sure why the ghost had bothered with him in the first place. He was sure of one thing, though; He was going to have to show up the next day, or die. 

At the studio, many of the Express Owls asked him where he had been- worried for a myriad of reasons. He had always thought they were too neurotic for their own good. The Conductor made up a different excuse for every owl who asked. He had slept past his alarm clock, been attacked by a monster, and forgotten to come into work all at the same time, depending on which owl you asked. No matter the effort he exerted to keep the specter out of his mind, the Conductor couldn’t shake the thought of having to go back to him. It was as ever present as the passage of time. Luckily, it was only for another week or so. The Conductor could handle that. It wasn’t like he was on crunch time with his movie. He’d have plenty of time with Snatcher- a thought that bothered him more than any loss of a movie award. 

The next day he took a bus to the closest station near Subcon Forest. He wasn’t sure he could stand walking all the way from the studio to that forest for the next 8 days anyway. Making his way to the heart of the forest, who else should he discover but Snatcher, sitting in his house, surrounded by small dolls. He was currently sewing the arm back onto one of them, humming a tune.   
“Oi! You! I’m ready for whatever small task you could’ve done yourself you’re gonna make me do today.” The Conductor shouted at him. Snatcher didn’t even look up from his craft. 

“Oh, you’re back! Don’t recall asking for you to bring your attitude with you, but I digress.” He looked to the owl with his usual grin and set the doll aside for a moment. “Today’s job might be a little tougher for you, since they might resist. But don’t worry! I know you can do it.” Snatcher added snidely. 

“What’s that supposed to mean?” The Conductor crossed his arms. 

“You saw those spirits with the masks yesterday, right? I need you to bring around… five of them to me. I have a gift to give them!” The ghost said cheerily. 

Skeptical, but more annoyed than anything, he set off into the woods to find the spirits. Perhaps he was going to bring them back to Snatcher to really get something nice. The dolls that were in the house were well made, and seemingly by hand. Yet, he didn’t know the ghost well enough to deduce whether his words were true or not. While his intuition said that this was a bad idea and was more than likely going to end horribly, the Conductor wanted to believe that Snatcher wasn’t going to murder the spirits in front of him once he brought them back. 

He had no problem finding the first spirit. It was not too far from the village, floating carelessly by an old abandoned stump home. He wrapped his fingers around the tail of the spirit to test if his hand went through. No, they were tangible with a slimy texture. The Conductor shuddered and apologized to the spirit for grabbing it, but that he would have to take it somewhere for now. It didn’t seem to react to the touch at all, only swaying in a nonexistent breeze. It was then that after holding onto the Dweller for a moment, that the owl saw a vision. A peaceful village one moment, and then a frozen wasteland the next. People frozen alive, and out came their spirits- looking eerily similar to the one he was currently holding like a balloon. It ended there, with the Conductor snapping back to reality. Was… that the truth of these spirits? Had the ice he had cleared the day before been their demise? A cold chill ran down his back, and he almost let go of the Dweller. If that was the case, he wanted to get this done as soon as possible. Rushing to the next spirit closest to him, he quickly put it in his grasp with the other, trying to avoid thinking about how they were once living and sentient like him. Thankfully, no more visions came to him as he gathered the remaining three. 

“Here! I’m done!” The Conductor ran up to Snatcher’s house with the Dwellers in hand like a cluster of balloons, out of breath and shaking. “I... I am done for today, right?” 

“Not exactly. Not until you see what happens next!” The ghost’s eyes, devoid of his typical mischief, moved to the Dwellers. He gingerly took the bundle of spirits from the Conductor with one hand, apparating a contract and quill pen in the other. The spirits immediately showed the first signs of sentience the owl had seen by turning their masks to look at the contract. With little hesitation, the quill pen moved on its own, writing what could only be assumed to be the names of the Dwellers onto the contract. It vanished from sight, and Snatcher moved over to his wide array of dolls, beckoning the Conductor to come closer. Curious to see what was about to happen, he peered at the scene from behind Snatcher. 

One by one, the specter took a Dweller from his left hand, and motioned it into the doll with his right. The dolls rocked back and forth with energy as they were possessed, their hoods and outfits turning into a sickly purple to match the color of the Snatcher. The owl could only watch with one question in mind. Why do this? What about this was so special that Snatcher couldn’t let him leave until he saw? Once all the dolls were possessed, they remained motionless until Snatcher waved his hand, to which they began to stand up and move around, testing the limits of their new forms. The ghost turned to the Conductor, who was just beginning to realize what had just happened. 

“See? Their gift is a body! They just have to use it to work for me now, that’s all! For the rest of their pathetic existence!” Snatcher chuckled to himself, watching the smaller man begin to ball his fists with fury. 

“What the peck is wrong with you?” The Conductor managed to get out, through searing rage and guilt that washed over him. Snatcher didn’t respond at first. He dropped his voice into a mocking tone.   
“And how does that make you feel? To know you brought them to me expecting a gift, only to be met with the truth that I would make them work for me for eternity?”

“I didn’t know-”

“To know that any future pain or suffering for them is on you for bringing them to me?”

“You said you had a gift for them!” 

“I never said the gift was good. Gifts don’t have to be. Not like the “gifts” of life and love ever did anything good for me! Besides, why believe me? Do I seem like a trustworthy character to you…?” 

“Why are you trying to take their free will? They’ve lost enough already! Do you know what they’ve been through?!” The minions shuffled behind the Conductor, who was looking like he was about to square up with Snatcher. “They’re ghosts so desperate for a body they’re willin’ to partner up with you just to get one, and you’re gonna subject them to whatever petty chores you have lyin’ around? Can’t you just give them bodies out of the kindness of your heart?” 

“...Bold of you to assume I have a heart left.” Snatcher loomed over the owl, casting a menacing shadow onto the minions and the Conductor. “I could kill you right now, and it wouldn’t mean a thing to the rest of this world. I could put your spirit into a doll to become a servant. I’m not going to ‘out of the kindness of my heart,’ so shut your mouth and just do what I tell you.” His annoyance was turning quickly to anger, and the Conductor could feel the minions trembling with fear. Now, he had seen a lot of scary things in his lifetime. Not much could compare to the situation at hand- but if he had brought a knife, he felt as if he could and would take Snatcher on, right then and there. But he hadn’t. So, he stared Snatcher in the eyes, sighed, turned, and began to walk home. The servants watched as he left, paralyzed by the sudden departure of the only person who would most likely ever stand up for them. 

“Just seven more days and i’ll never have to step foot in that forest again…” The Conductor thought to himself on the way home, planning to bring his knife with him the next day. He wasn’t going to let Snatcher get away with that type of garbage again.

“Just seven more days, huh…” Snatcher thought to himself, alone in his home. The servants had run off to avoid his rage, but the ghost had calmed down rather quickly. It had been a long time since someone actively tried to rebel against him in a fun way like that. The little girl would never say anything back to him, which added to his disdain for her- Yet, the Conductor was actively challenging him. It was a breath of fresh air that he almost kind of liked. Not that he knew it, though.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> deadass made myself sad writing this gjkljf  
> next chapter will be more lighthearted i promise   
> once again i reiterate: yes this does end up as snatchductor i just like to torture myself in writing  
> but hey! i'm decently proud of this chapter


	4. Day 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Snatcher mimicks the Conductor.

The night after Snatcher and the Conductor’s argument, the owl was in a horrid mood. Everyone who crossed his path in Dead Bird Studio was acutely aware of this; his lack of enthusiasm when directing or addressing anyone was a burden to the whole crew. The Express Owls could only hope that by the next day, he’d be in a better mood.   
Yet, when the next day rolled around, the Conductor’s outlook had not changed in the slightest. He was still bitter, but at least he could properly take it out on Snatcher before heading to the studio after he was done with the daily contractual obligations. 

“Today you’ll be putting out some of the fires around Subcon Forest! Easy enough, huh?” The anger that Snatcher had shown the day before had seemingly entirely evaporated, leaving only his typical mischievous demeanor. He was in a much better mood than the Conductor was.

“... What’s the catch today? Are you gonna set more fires the second I get done with these ones, or am I not gonna get to use water?” Skepticism was a proper response for the Conductor, considering his capacity for it and what he had witnessed the day before. 

“I’ll be watching you the whole time to make sure you actually do the job. Fun, I know. Gotta make sure you’re actually doing what I tell you to somehow, though.” He responded, attempting to sound somewhat genuine.

“Whatever. Just don’t get in my way, ya hear?” The pair set off left from Snatcher’s house to a burning part of Subcon Forest to start the task. Upon coming to a clearing in the woods, Snatcher perched himself in a tree high up to observe. The Conductor looked around at the many small blazes burning bits of the brush. This wouldn’t take too long if he could think of something. But, there wasn’t a source of water anywhere in sight. Snatcher probably knew where one was, but was purposefully not telling him. He thought about what he could do for a moment, and then had an idea. 

Unbuttoning his coat, the owl promptly took it off and began to beat the flames with it. The embers faded away into the ground with every smack. The spirit watched intently, noting that the owl wore another button up with a tie underneath a button up coat. That was just too many buttons. But that thought was quickly out of Snatcher’s mind as soon as it came in- He had just thought of a way to make this more interesting.

He swooped down from the branches of the tree he had been hanging in, grabbing the coat out of the unsuspecting Conductor’s hands and disappearing into the brush. Before the owl could even process what had just happened, Snatcher spoke.

“How do I look? Just like you, huh?” Snatcher appeared from the underbrush, mimicking the Conductor in a shapeshifted form. He was a dead ringer for the owl, in all aspects except color. 

“I do NOT look like that! I’m much more refined and dashing than whatever cheap form you pretend to be!” He chided. “Now gimme back my coat!” 

“Nah, this is way more fun than just watching you smack fires with this old thing. Besides, it’s something different to see you without this anyway.” Snatcher smirked, the usual glow behind his eyes turning more orange than yellow. The Conductor sighed, and began to look for more spots that smoldered with a touch of flame.

“Not sure how you expect me to do this without anythin’ to put the fires out since you took my tool, peck neck.” Annoyance was overcome by mild amusement in his tone of voice. 

“Figure something out. You’ve got a brain in that pretty little head of yours, don’t you?” The spirit’s now-orange eyes bore a hole into the Conductor. His gaze made the owl shudder a little bit. It wasn’t one of contempt or superiority, for once. 

“S-sure I do!” He nearly stumbled over such a simple phrase from the shock of that compliment. He knew Snatcher was kidding, but it was still weird to hear that coming from the guy who had threatened him with murder the day before. Not that it bothered him to get a compliment, of course. It… was nice. He was probably thinking about it too much.

But that was not the point- the point was that he needed to come up with a different way to put out the fires. Nothing could ever be easy when that ghost was involved. 

Stamping out the fires by stomping on them seemed to be his best option for now. After all, they weren’t big at all. Most of the little blazes were dying out anyway after one stomp. The work wasn’t going to take long nor was the Conductor particularly worried about the difficulty. If anything, this was the easiest thing so far. The two returned to Snatcher’s house relatively early. 

“Alright, now get outta my forest!” Snatcher, still shapeshifting to look like the Conductor, hopped up on his armchair and pulled his favorite book from leaning against it into his lap. 

“Can I have my coat back now? It’s not cheap to order clothes in that size and style, y’know.”

“No, you look much better that way! Besides, I’m the one who makes the rules here. And the rules say…” The ghost trailed off and pretended to read a fine line of text in his book. “That I can do what I want! So this belongs to me now.” Another piercing orange glare combined with a goofy smile. 

“Why do you even want to keep that anyway?” The Conductor asked, curious. It was probably just to mess with him, but he might as well ask. 

“Wouldn’t you like to know?” He answered mockingly, sticking his tongue out at the Conductor and looking back to his book. “Now scram!” The statement was clear but not forced. It was more of a playful tone than anything.

The Conductor headed out into the forest, humming as he went along the path. His mood had improved quickly, and while he did mind having to give up his coat, it wasn’t like there was much he could do about it anyway. He’d just wear an older spare one while he waited to order a new one. 

Snatcher sat back in his armchair, undoing the coat’s buttons, taking it off, and returning to his regular form. He hadn’t had the nerve to tell the Conductor he was keeping the coat because he liked seeing the owl without it. It started as a prank, but he did his best not to think about how his mood had changed when he saw the Conductor take his coat off. 

In the trees nearby, a figure watched. Their arms twitched to and fro as their single green eye shone through their mask. They were good at being hidden from sight, despite their large bright red robes that they wore. 

“I have never seen that specter with an orange visage like this… What could that mean?” They noted quietly. “Perhaps…? No, not yet.” It was with that they stalked back into the deep trees of Subcon Forest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> fuck it if this is ooc! i do what i want! cringe culture is dead! also feel free to speculate what the orange means. bc it may or may not be important :)c


	5. Day 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Conductor makes his way across the Subcon Swamp to the well. Snatcher does something even he didn't expect himself to do.

Subcon Forest the next day was as calm as it had ever been. No mischief making on Snatcher’s part to be had, just the sound of the wind through the trees and the bubbling of the poisonous bog. The Conductor walked into the forest from the nearest bus stop to the now vaguely familiar path to Snatcher’s house. The spirit sat in his favorite armchair, waiting for the owl to show up. Before he could even ask what the chore was that day, Snatcher spoke first. 

“Today you’re gonna go into the Subcon Well and make sure everything’s… serviceable in there. Just check that it's not icy and or nothing is on fire. It'll make you appreciate the work that plumbers do, right?" Might as well cut right to the chase rather than have the owl waste his breath yelling in that horribly loud, obnoxious voice of his. 

The Conductor grimaced. That seemed true that’d he have a newfound appreciation for plumbers by the end of the day, but he still didn't want to do it. Going down into an old well was not exactly his plan. Whatever. It was either doing that or forfeiting his soul. He kinda needed that. 

“Got it. Which direction is the well, exactly?” He asked. Snatcher got up from his chair and pointed into the distance. 

“Over there. There’s a boat to help you get across the swamp. It’s extremely poisonous, though- would be a shame if you fell in!” The gleefully morbid tone in his voice was as apparent as ever. “Now get to it!” The Conductor hated how eager he sounded, but it was also kind of funny for Snatcher to think that he’d let himself be killed that easily. He may have been an old owl, but he wasn’t gonna go down without a fight. He knew the ghost didn’t care, though. At least, that was what he thought.   
The Conductor followed the short path to the bubbling swamp, one of Snatcher’s minions already there with a small boat. The minion gave him a thumbs up as he climbed in, taking the paddles from their holders on the sides of the boat. The Subconite helped him shove off from the dock into the direction of Subcon Well. It wasn’t a far journey by any means, but it was tough to get there unless you were some kind of acrobat climbing through the trees to avoid the swamp water. The paddles stuck into the swamp with a tangible force, making it seem like he was wading through jelly. 

“This… is nowhere near as bad as I thought it was gonna be.” He mumbled, rowing in the direction the signs attached to the trees pointed. It was then that he felt the paddle strike something solid within the water. Whatever he had hit shook the surface of the water, creating large waves nearby. 

Writhing shadow hands rose up from the depths of the swamp, gripping the sides of the Conductor's small boat and pulling it into the bog with all their might. He attempted to beat them back with his paddle and fists, but they didn’t flinch. There was a dock not too far away from the boat- he’d have to jump and hope he could swim to it fast enough to avoid the hands once the hands finished dragging it down. He began to climb out, ready to jump- when in a flash, the hands were smacked away from the sides of the boat, a familiar specter rising out of the water. The Conductor watched as Snatcher appeared before him, a stoic look on his face as he grabbed the hands into a bundle and stuffed them back into the water with ease. He reflexively had leaned back away from the impact, in shock that that had all happened so quickly. Snatcher took a moment looking down into the bog before turning to the Conductor. Noticing how surprised the owl seemed to be caught him off guard, and the specter flinched with surprise. He had expected the Conductor to just yell at him for that- but both of them just looked at each other with a bewildered expression. Before either of them could get a word out, Snatcher fled back into the swamp water, disappearing. 

“...What the peck just happened?” The Conductor asked aloud. Snatcher could’ve easily let the swamp hands drag him down with the boat and not have shown up to save him, especially since the ghost seemed annoyed by the concept of him showing up to do chores at all. So why save him? This was the thought that prevailed in his mind as he shakily grabbed for the paddles again, and rowed the rest of the way to Subcon Well. 

The well was crumbling and covered in moss and various plants sprouting from the cracks in the bricks it was made of. The Conductor could only think of the type of gross water that came from this thing. It was tall with no clear way to get up to the rim, so he climbed the slippery bricks until he got to the top, only to be met with the sight of a familiar face sitting on the inside edge of the well, having a cup of tea. The stranger who had given him the powder to melt the ice only acknowledged him with a cursory glance, and then looked back to their tea. 

“What are you doin’ here, laddie?” He asked, climbing up onto the ridge of the well and taking a seat.   
“Waiting for you. I knew you’d show up eventually.” They answered with a snide tone. 

“How did you- Who are you, anyhow?” 

“You may call me the Badge Seller. I simply stick around in places I know my wares will be needed. They took a sip from their teacup, pulling a few cubes of sugar from seemingly nowhere and dropping them into the cup. “I can assure you there’s nothing wrong with this well. No need to go in there and inspect it. However, there is another matter I would like to discuss with you.” They set the tea down on the ridge of the well. 

“That would be…?” The Conductor was still on edge from the surprise of running into someone that deep into Subcon Forest, but tried to relax, since the Badge Seller had helped him out before. His body language didn’t reflect this mindset at all, though- his arms crossed and a scowl on his face. 

“Your payment for the Phoenix Powder, of course. Surely you haven’t forgotten it that fast. That’ll be 920 Pons.”

“920 Pons?! For a little thing of powder smaller than my hand?! No way.” 

“I’ll get the payment somehow, young one.” The Badge Seller stood up on the edge of the well, leaving their tea. “You’ll see. No hard feelings, I hope.” With that, they jumped off the edge of the well into the swamp below. The Conductor scooted over to see them leave- but there was no trace that anyone had ever landed in the water. No ripples or hands grasping for anyone. They had just vanished into thin air. Not the first time he had ever seen anything that absolutely strange, but it wasn’t his concern. He believed them that there was nothing to bother with about the well- and quite frankly, he didn’t want to go in anyway. He’d just make an excuse for Snatcher. 

After rowing back to the shore and making his way back to the ghost’s abode, he wondered if he should thank Snatcher for saving him back there. It was the polite thing to do- but since when did Snatcher ever care about formalities? He didn’t really want the ghost to know he appreciated it, either. Avoiding making his ego bigger was probably a good decision on the owl’s part, but his need to thank Snatcher won over. 

“Welcome back! Anything to report on the well?” Snatcher asked, sounding gleeful as ever, but not looking at the Conductor. 

“No, it’s all fine. But… thanks for savin’ me back there. It doesn’t mean I completely appreciate it, though! Let me deal with my own problems, peck neck!” The Conductor shot at Snatcher, his head turned away from the ghost. He couldn’t look him in the eyes while yelling at him, or he’d definitely say something really stupid, like ask Snatcher why he had decided to save him in the end. He rather would have not thought about why, anyway.

Snatcher didn’t respond at all, trying to look as engrossed in his book on how to properly hex a person as possible. A brief moment of silence, and then the Conductor cleared his throat to break it. 

"So... Am I ever gonna get my soul back, or what?" 

"You've got 6 more days, trooper! You know our deal." Snatcher said, without looking up from his book. He desperately didn’t want to make eye contact with the Conductor. Wait, did he even have eyes? It wasn’t important- he just didn’t want to give the owl his attention for fear that he’d say something stupid, too. 

_______________

When the Conductor got home, the phone rang. A call from his son. He picked up, hoping for good news. He was greeted with the worst of luck. 

"W-What? The babysitter really cancelled at the last second? You need me to babysit the little ones?” The Conductor sputtered. This was the last possible thing he wanted to do- bring his grandkids into harm’s way, especially with how much they got into everything. “Are you sure there’s no one else to do it? No? Ah, alright… I’ll pick them up tomorrow morning.”

The Conductor hung the phone up on its receiver and laid back into a recliner. Tomorrow was not going to be easy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ok sorry this took so long! i started Slacking(tm) but i drew a lot for upcoming chaps and shit! y'all are gonna love this next one jlfjkjhlfkgl   
> thank you for all of your support! i love you all <3


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